Bluecherry – Powerful Video Surveillance Software | WarmIndex

Bluecherry is a free, open-source Linux-based video surveillance software for IP cameras, offering low resource usage, unlimited camera support, and cross-platform clients.

🚀 Overview

Bluecherry is a powerful, efficient video surveillance solution that runs on Linux servers, designed to handle unlimited IP cameras with minimal CPU and memory usage, making it ideal for modest hardware setups.

It solves the problem of costly proprietary NVR/DVR systems with per-camera licenses by providing a fully free, scalable open-source alternative with full ONVIF compatibility for easy camera integration.

Built for homeowners, small businesses, and self-hosting enthusiasts who need reliable surveillance without vendor lock-in.

Originally developed commercially, it was released as fully open-source (GPL) in 2019 to empower the community with accessible, high-performance surveillance software.

✨ Key Features

Efficient resource utilization (low CPU/memory): Runs dozens of cameras on basic servers, matters for cost savings on hardware.
Full ONVIF support and auto-discovery: Quickly add network cameras via scan tool.
Cross-platform clients: Open-source apps for Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android plus web interface for live view/config.
User-based roles and access: Granular permissions for cameras/features.
Email/webhook notifications and motion detection (multiple algorithms).
PTZ controls, time-lapse, unlimited cameras.
Optional: Docker/VM installs, ongoing client improvements (Unity WIP).

🛠 Tech Stack

Server: C++, FFmpeg for video processing, MySQL database
Clients: C++ (legacy), Dart/Unity (cross-platform WIP), React Native (mobile archived), web-based
Deployment: Linux (Ubuntu/Debian), Docker
Other: ONVIF protocol, Swagger API

👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

Homeowners who want to self-host IP camera surveillance affordably
Small businesses looking for scalable, license-free NVR
Self-hosters and homelabbers building open-source security systems

📸 Screenshots / Demo

Live demo: No public hosted demo; quick test via Docker: sudo bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://install.bluecherrydvr.com/docker)" or VM images
GitHub: https://github.com/bluecherrydvr

🔥 Project Status

🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (Completely free, no fees or camera limits; donation-supported via Ko-fi.)

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/bluecherrydvr/bluecherry-apps (server), https://github.com/bluecherrydvr/unity (client), full org https://github.com/bluecherrydvr

Can I contribute?

Yes — Open issues/PRs on GitHub repos, join discussions on forums (https://forums.bluecherrydvr.com) or Discord (https://discord.gg/64xADw6vuC), provide feedback.